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Mayumi Ozaki JWP Graduation
Match: Mayumi Ozaki vs. Rieko Amano |
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This was a solid match that built well. The problem was that Amano didn't push Ozaki as much as she needed to. The match needed to show how much Amano has grown, and that Ozaki could "trust her" to be the top heel in JWP in her absence. Personally, I would have had Amano beat Ozaki in a double juice brawl to set this up. Instead, Ozaki beat Amano here and JWP became a promotion without heels because Amano only gets nasty on the rare occasions that Ozaki is present. The match was excellent in points, but slow in others. Amano's nose was bloodied from Ozaki's uraken. They needed the reverse to happen if this match was going to do it's job, or at least Amano to avenge this. It was a good match, but I was frustrated by it because they didn't do what was necessary to allow Amano to take Ozaki's place. While it can be argued that this is because she wasn't going to take Ozaki's place, the point is that she should have. The post match was cool with Kansai getting into the ring and presenting flowers to the departing Ozaki even though they were rivals, and played it as such. During the post match, Ozaki started to cry. Amano tried to talk, but initially she was too emotional to get the words out. "I liked this match better than you did. I agree that the match didn't flow consistently, but Oz was great here. Amano should have pushed Oz more, you're right, but it was still better then almost any match since when it comes to moving Amano up the ladder," wrote Michael. The last comment only shows just how badly JWP has screwed up when it comes to Amano's push and role. Jason: I think this match was better than ***1/4, more in the range of ***3/4. It was a solid match that for me had some great spots with great drama even though I knew that Ozaki was going to win. Amano really put the pressure on toward the end with some great near finishes, especially her submissions, although in one spot Ozaki was in Amano's jujigatame a little too long. One great spot was Amano trying to finish Ozaki with her own tequila sunrise, but Ozaki got all stiff with her urakens to show Amano who's boss. Overall, I really enjoyed this match even though as you wrote, the purpose should have been to make Amano the top heel in JWP, yet she doesn't really play the part unless Oz is around. Special Thanks to: Michael Smith & Jason Higgs 16:11
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